Key Stakeholders in India Discuss the Role of Private Sector in Skills Development for Fostering Inclusive Markets Jul 29, 2015UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) and UNDP India co-hosted the workshop entitled "Skills for Inclusive Markets in India: Leveraging the Role of the Private Sector" in partnership with FICCI and Government of India Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in New Delhi. The workshop highlighted the private sector's current and potential contributions to inclusive growth and human development through skilling, as well as the prominent business models and existing approaches in India.

Asia-Pacific Launch of State of the World's Volunteerism Report 2015Jun 23, 2015On 23 June, UN Volunteers India in collaboration with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and UNDP welcomed young volunteers, academics, civil society representatives as well as private sector and media associates to launch the 2015 State of the World's Volunteerism Report. The Report was launched by Rajeev Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator Rosemary Kalapurakal, UN Resident Coordinator a.i. Louis George Arsenault, and Rajesh Tandon from Participatory Research in Asia. Lead author Amanda Mukwashi herself presented SWVR's key findings. The Launch was followed by a lively discussion on the role volunteerism in facilitating sustainable development and good governance. Our short video recap gives you some first-hand impressions directly from the event.

India Biodiversity Awards 2016: Recognizing Champions of Biodiversity ConservationMay 22, 2015On the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May 2015, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and UNDP will launch the Biodiversity Finance Initiative to promote increased investment in the management of ecosystems and biodiversity, and focus on opportunities to unlock resources at the national level.

Women Still Earn 24 Percent Less Than Men, 20 Years OnMay 6, 2015UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark called 2015 a “new opportunity” to achieve gender equality as she kicked off a three-day global meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of the landmark conference on women that enshrined the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Nepal: A Lesson in the Risks Climate Change Poses to Disaster-prone CountriesApr 30, 2015As relief assistance rushes to Nepal after the earthquake, those efforts are being hampered by a number of factors. Weak existing infrastructure means many critical roads have been damaged. Remote mountain villages perched on hillsides require helicopters to distribute aid. Inadequate communications networks complicate the ability to understand and prioritise where relief is most needed.

Lessons from Nepal's Earthquake TragedyApr 27, 2015The numbers of those who have perished are still rising following Saturday's massive earthquake in Nepal. The quake -- the country's largest in 80 years -- hit a notoriously vulnerable area.

The Water Man of India Wins 2015 Stockholm Water PrizeMar 20, 2015The planet is facing a 40% shortfall in water supply by 2030, unless we dramatically improve the management of this precious resource. This is the unavoidable conclusion reached in the 2015 United Nations World Water Development Report, “Water for a Sustainable World”, launched on 20 March in New Delhi (India), in time for World Water Day (22 March).

Urgent Need to Manage Water More Sustainably, Says UN ReportMar 20, 2015The planet is facing a 40% shortfall in water supply by 2030, unless we dramatically improve the management of this precious resource. This is the unavoidable conclusion reached in the 2015 United Nations World Water Development Report, “Water for a Sustainable World”, launched on 20 March in New Delhi (India), in time for World Water Day (22 March).

Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015: Towards a Global Framework to Reduce Disaster RiskMar 14, 2015As disaster risk threatens to reverse development progress, the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction reviewed the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action towards adopting a new framework to reduce disaster risk across the world. Thousands of participants including world leaders, policymakers, academics, civil society and NGO representatives attended this historic conference in Sendai Japan on 14-18 March 2015.

6 Journalists Awarded Media Fellowships on Decentralized PlanningFeb 19, 2015Mukesh Kumar Kejariwal and Harikishan Sharma of Dainik Jagran; Pavithra S Rangan of Outlook magazine; Sandip Das of The Financial Express; Rakhi Ghosh, a freelance journalist and Atul Kumar Singh of Hindustan have been awarded the Government of India and UNDP Media Fellowships on Decentralized Planning-2015. The media Fellowship is awarded annually for journalists to work in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.